Biwott to debut at Chicago Marathon as elite team is named

Kenya’s Stanley Biwott will make his debut at the 40th edition of the that will be held on Sunday, October 8 in Chicago, United States.

Biwott is the seventh-fastest man in history over the marathon distance (2:03.51) and the 11th-fastest in history over the half marathon on a record-eligible course (58:56).

The 31 year-old made his mark in the Abbott World Marathon Majors with a victory at the 2015 TCS New York City Marathon, and with a standout performance at the 2016 London Marathon, finishing second to Eliud Kipchoge (KEN) in a career best, 2:03.51 (Biwott and Kipchoge share the 30K world record, 1:27.13, set during the London Marathon). Biwott has finished in the top five of 10 marathons.

Ethiopia’s Feyisa Lilesa gained international attention at the 2016 Rio Olympics when he finished the marathon with a silver medal. However, he initially made a name for himself in 2010 when, just two months after his 20th birthday, he became the youngest athlete to break 2:06 in the marathon with a 2:05.23 performance in Rotterdam.

The 27 year-old has run well in Chicago, finishing third in 2010 and coming back in 2012 to chase Tsegaye Kebede to the line for second place and a new personal best, 2:04.52. His 2017 campaign started with a second-place finish at the Houston half marathon and wins at the New York City Half Marathon and the Bogota Half Marathon.

Another Kenyan on the start line is Bernard Kipyego who returns to Chicago after finishing third in 2011 and sixth in 2012.

The 31 year-old started his international career 14 years ago as a junior competitor, and he has represented Kenya on the track in 5,000m and 10,000m, in cross-country and on the roads. He won a silver medal at the 2009 World Half Marathon Championships where he clocked a 59:59, and he has consistently run under 60 minutes in the half marathon six times and five times under 2:07 in the marathon. He has a personal best of 2:06.19, which he got in Amsterdam in 2015. He is a two-time winner of the Amsterdam Marathon (2014, 2015).

Ezekiel Chebii of Kenya opened his marathon career in 2014 by winning the Madrid Marathon while setting a course and all-comers record of 2:09.15.

The 26 year-old returned to Madrid in 2015 to pick up another win, and he hit his stride in the marathon in 2016 when he ran 2:06.07 in Amsterdam to finish fifth. He became the 16th-fastest man in history over the half marathon distance in 2012 (59:10). In March this year he won the Otsu Lake Biwa Marathon.